Prequel
The Right Choices?
Ambition and success are interesting subjects. If you are lucky and have an idea of what you would like to do with your life, you are ahead of the game. For some ambition means taking advantage of every opportunity to advance their careers, getting the proper education, following the rules, and attending all of the meetings at all cost. Of course, success is different with everyone. Sometimes our choices can be costly.
"You can't have it all!" How often had Miranda Priestly heard that? Miranda's second husband Rob had given her an ultimatum that if she did not spend more time with him and their twin daughters, he was leaving. Her husband had fallen at work and had been rushed to the hospital. He suffered a mild concussion and was held overnight for observation since he had hit his head. Miranda's assistant had interrupted her meeting to tell her about her husband. Instead of ending her meeting or allowing someone else to take over, Miranda kept working but said she would be there shortly. Fortunately, Rob was okay and just had a small bump on his head. However, the next time Miranda saw her husband was at home the next evening. She never made it to the hospital. Rob was livid, but Miranda reminded him that she was in the middle of developing ideas for the next issue, trying to reassure her husband that she would do better next time.
Rob had known Miranda since childhood. Their families were friends and he had always admired her drive. They had lost touch with each other after college. One day twenty years later they literally bumped into each other on Madison Avenue. Miranda's first husband had divorced her for being a workaholic. Rob had never married. They reconnected and fell in love. When they got married Rob knew about the demands of Miranda's work. Even though his work kept him busy, he always made time for his wife – often canceling business or golf outings with his friends to spend time with Miranda. Miranda would not do the same.
Miranda adored her ten-year-old daughters and at one time her first husband. However, her live-in nanny really spent more time with the girls than their mother did. Their stepfather tried his best to spend quality time with the girls. But often that meant overspending and allowing the girls to have their way.
As the fashion editor of Runway magazine (considered the fashion Bible) Miranda worked long hours. She was up at dawn and did not return to her fashionable lower East Side Manhattan townhome until early evening – often missing romantic evenings with her husband and famjly gatherings. Always chic Miranda loved her job and worked tirelessly to perfect it. Designers and models admired her and gave her credit for promoting their designs and careers. The world looked to her and the magazine to set the pace. Miranda had two assistants. Her first assistant had been recently promoted, so her second assistant became the first assistant. This meant there was an opening for the second assistant.
Andrea (Andy) Sachs grew up an only child in a loving family. She was considered spoiled, but her parents taught her manners and to value hard work. Her mother was always buying her clothes in hopes that she would dress a little differently. Andy never took an interest in fashion. She was basically the jeans and t-shirt girl. Always neat but very plain. Her parents made sure that she was culturally exposed and surrounded by loving friends and family. Her mother was a third grade teacher and her father was a marketing executive. They were strict and very protective. Family vacations ranged from visiting the National Parks, relatives in California and Michigan to touring Canada and Western Europe.
Once Andy reached high school she found summer work waitressing or teaching summer school. She was a good student, always reading and writing and dreaming of becoming a lawyer. Although she had been accepted to several colleges Northwestern won her heart. Approaching her senior year she applied to several prestigious law schools, but Stanford was on the top of her list.
After exceling in a writing class Andy decided to submit her short stories to the campus newspaper. The editor-in-chief was so impressed with her writing he offered her a job. So, within a year she went from copyeditor to editor. Soon she realized that law school was not her calling. Instead she wanted to write for The New Yorker or the Atlantic Monthly. So, this meant moving to New York City!
Meanwhile Andy had met Nate in Writing class and became fast friends but quickly fell in love. Like Andy, Nate had dreamed of moving to New York City. After two years at Northwestern he admitted that cooking was his passion and soon transferred to the Culinary Institute of America in New York City. His goal was to become the head chef at a fancy restaurant or hotel. Naturally, Andy was not happy about his decision to leave town, but she understood.
During her senior year Andy received her acceptance to Stanford Law school. Even though she was thrilled by the news, she turned it down to become a journalist. Her parents had a hard time understanding why! She had always talked about becoming a lawyer, so she could make a difference in someone's life. Andy's parents were disappointed but wanted her to be happy. They tried to warn her of the difficulty of becoming a successful writer.
Anyway, Andy graduated from Northwestern and moved to New York City to live with Nate. Andy's parents were not thrilled at the idea, especially because they were not married. However, they liked Nate and tried to accept Andy's decision. So Andy's quest for the dream writing job continued. She sent countless resumes and letters in hopes of landing her dream writing job. She had been in New York for weeks and had no prospects. Had she made the right choice? When she finally was granted a job interview it was somewhere she had never dreamed of going….